The Israelis have been bombing Syrian targets at-will for decades. I'm not condemning them because frankly the Syrians usually have it coming, I'm just saying that this is hardly the game-changer that the US bombing Syria would be.

Not sure why the US is making any coment at all here. Just say "the UN security council must address this issue" and then vote for isreal in the UN. Singling us out only gives the anti-American factions more fodder.

Wolf_Blitzer:The Israelis have been bombing Syrian targets at-will for decades. I'm not condemning them because frankly the Syrians usually have it coming, I'm just saying that this is hardly the game-changer that the US bombing Syria would be.

What I came to say more or less.There HAS to be a much higher threshold for US (direct) involvement (than Israel's).

..also people clutching to this "red line" thing are starting to sound like the Benghazi shouters

Wolf_Blitzer:The Israelis have been bombing Syrian targets at-will for decades. I'm not condemning them because frankly the Syrians usually have it coming, I'm just saying that this is hardly the game-changer that the US bombing Syria would be.

I've heard a lotta stories from a friend who lived there (well, Lebanon) off-and-on, problem is I don't remember all the details and the regular raid/counter-raid lifestyle in that area is something people just don't talk about here.

I get the impression that strikes over the Syrian border have been off the table for a while, and that they just hit more \Syrian targets in Lebanon. But I don't really know.

Dear sir, you are unintentionally suggesting that Israel has no national will and is equivalent to a trained guard dog of the USA.

Though I'm sure you thought you were being clever in suggesting that Israel defending its citizens is somehow a war fought on behalf of the United States. This line of thinking is often heard from anti-American forces that believe that Israel is an expansion of the west (vs. a national homeland of the Jews). Please have the intellect to differentiate between a war and a defensive snuffing out of enemy resources.

Well the problem is if you research the facts it starts to look more and more like the Rebels were popping off chemical weapons, so then what. Bomb Assad and the rebels? Both sides are bad so vote Assad?

stevenboof:moothemagiccow: Satanic_Hamster: Isn't Israel's red line "are they being brown on a sunny day?"

You seriously think people in Israel are white?

Of course. Everybody knows that Jesus was a blonde hair, blue eyed jew, just like every other jew.

Duh. Jews are pure white skin blonds, which is why the Nazis were jealous of them. Duh!Then when they saw how good the Nazis do their thing in Europe, they just did the same thing in the middle east... that's why everyone hates them... because they are white supremacists, those Jews.

/Some people actually believe the last part of that satirical joke//possibly they guy who thinks that all 'brown people' is Israel's target///What someone says about others, says a lot more about what they think themselves.

"Ok, you did it now! We are so going to review our options and get back to you."

Does it get exhausting making excuses for this administration so much?

Why does the decision to not hastily waste american treasure and lives in another middle eastern conflict mean we're weak? I for one appreciate that as we finally start to wind down two financially devastating wars that we're hesitant to get into a new one.

"Ok, you did it now! We are so going to review our options and get back to you."

Does it get exhausting making excuses for this administration so much?

Why does the decision to not hastily waste american treasure and lives in another middle eastern conflict mean we're weak? I for one appreciate that as we finally start to wind down two financially devastating wars that we're hesitant to get into a new one.

Winding down? Do you have any idea how many people we have killed in the last year with drones?We are still at war. And it is expanding. (Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan).

And speaking of which, how is it the Bush is the devil because he waterboarded some people, but Obama using drones to kill American citizens without due process and also kill innocent civilians is a somber reality of the war on terror? The hypocrites abound.

"Ok, you did it now! We are so going to review our options and get back to you."

Does it get exhausting making excuses for this administration so much?

Why does the decision to not hastily waste american treasure and lives in another middle eastern conflict mean we're weak? I for one appreciate that as we finally start to wind down two financially devastating wars that we're hesitant to get into a new one.

Winding down? Do you have any idea how many people we have killed in the last year with drones?We are still at war. And it is expanding. (Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan).

And speaking of which, how is it the Bush is the devil because he waterboarded some people, but Obama using drones to kill American citizens without due process and also kill innocent civilians is a somber reality of the war on terror? The hypocrites abound.

OK, so presuming that you're right and the war effort is expanding rather than just shifting roles (maybe I should look at numbers again but last I looked overall casualties were declining regardless) Was that "fuzzy math" based on some alternate consideration for where all the drone strikes are categorized? I suppose I cannot completely and accurately answer that. How exactly, then, does your reasoning that Obama is terrible for using drones in one combat scenario justify with the assertion that he is weak because he isn't starting a new war elsewhere? Your complaints of hypocrites seems like a thin deflection on your part. Why do I think those "American citizens" killed "without due process" would be labeled differently if you liked the president?

No, that would be the case if the US began bombing and invading Syria while Israel sat on the other side of their border and cheered us on; Israel has a history of blowing up Syrian targets whenever one of their soldiers looks funny at them, so this isn't that big a deal.

Generation_D:NostroZ: Apik0r0s: And if you can't trust Eli Lake to report fairly on the mid-east, who can you trust?

Oh, that's clever, because Eli Lake is a reporter for the Daily Beast and he sounds Jewish.

Since he's Jewish he must be a liar. So clever, because Jews are liars and duplicit in their dealings.

Apik0r0s, you sure are a great guy to be around... please tell me more about your thoughts on minorities.

Most reporting on the region is agenda driven to an extreme that would be intolerable in any other context.

'Intolerable'? There is that word again...Do you work for the US state department?

Do you find Jews to be 'intolerable' when they talk about the Middle-East? Do you think Jews are 'agenda driven & intolerable' when talking about the holocaust? What about their right to exist and govern a country?

/Please elaborate what is intolerable and what you do about it//Do you think Jews cannot be 'trusted' to report about Israel?///Who do you trust then? Al Jazeera?

bluefox3681:And speaking of which, how is it the Bush is the devil because he waterboarded some people, but Obama using drones to kill American citizens without due process and also kill innocent civilians is a somber reality of the war on terror? The hypocrites abound.

Because killing people and torturing people are completely different things?

NostroZ:Generation_D: NostroZ: Apik0r0s: And if you can't trust Eli Lake to report fairly on the mid-east, who can you trust?

Oh, that's clever, because Eli Lake is a reporter for the Daily Beast and he sounds Jewish.

Since he's Jewish he must be a liar. So clever, because Jews are liars and duplicit in their dealings.

Apik0r0s, you sure are a great guy to be around... please tell me more about your thoughts on minorities.

Most reporting on the region is agenda driven to an extreme that would be intolerable in any other context.

'Intolerable'? There is that word again...Do you work for the US state department?

Do you find Jews to be 'intolerable' when they talk about the Middle-East? Do you think Jews are 'agenda driven & intolerable' when talking about the holocaust? What about their right to exist and govern a country?

/Please elaborate what is intolerable and what you do about it//Do you think Jews cannot be 'trusted' to report about Israel?///Who do you trust then? Al Jazeera?

Good god the persecution complex on you. Freud would look at you, shake his head, and walk away.

cameroncrazy1984:Good god the persecution complex on you. Freud would look at you, shake his head, and walk away.

Thank you Jr. Psychologist, it's a pleasure to hear you chime in on this important topic.

I'd hope you would know that Freud has been disproven by modern psychology, but I'm guessing you're looking to score some points on me for defending Jews. You likely think that because you've never been persecuted or wished that your whole family dies, that means no one else has experienced such hatred.

Now I'm sure you're a nice guy in real life... but on the internet, you're choosing to stand with a crowd that was just saying that "Jews cannot be trusted to report on the Middle East".

If you wish to insult me... please do so directly.Lets not pretend that the comments I was replying to did not have an obvious anti-Jewish bias.

bluefox3681:And speaking of which, how is it the Bush is the devil because he waterboarded some people, but Obama using drones to kill American citizens without due process [...]is a somber reality of the war on terror? The hypocrites abound.